text:
Source: Link
LACOSTE, MARIE (baptized Marie-Thaïs-Élodie-Coralie) (Gérin-Lajoie), feminist, social reformer, lecturer, educator, and author; b. 19 Oct. 1867 in the parish of Notre-Dame, Montreal, daughter of Alexandre Lacoste*, a lawyer, and Marie-Louise Globensky; m. 11 Jan. 1887 Henri Gérin-Lajoie in the parish of Saint-Jacques, Montreal, and they had four children; d. 1 Nov. 1945 in Montreal.
Marie Lacoste was born at a time when French Canadian life was beginning to change drastically as a result of the Industrial Revolution. In growing numbers, men and women were heading to the factories and workshops of Montreal. Far from the working-class suburbs of the city, she grew up in a house in a fine neighbourhood, where she lived with her parents and many brothers and sisters. Among the latter, Justine and Thaïs were to become active social reformers, as she would. Accompanying her mother in her charitable activities, she early on became acutely aware of the problems of urban poverty and, above all, of the fact that women did not have the power to take charge of their own destinies.
At the age of nine Marie was placed in the convent in Hochelaga, run by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Spontaneous and frank, she was repelled by the austerity and coldness of life there, and by the required obedience to arbitrary rules. Subsequently, encouraged by her father's promise to let her use his library as she pleased, with his guidance, upon leaving the convent, she completed her secondary education with honours in 1883. At home the young girl started studying on her own. Intelligent and eager to learn, she began to tackle the laws of physics and rudiments of chemistry, and acquainted herself with classical authors.
Aware of the demanding work of household servants and surprised to see that married women in her circle sometimes seemed to be victims of their neglectful spouses, Marie became conscious of the inferior social position of women and was indignant that they were confined to the domestic sphere or to badly paid, unrewarding jobs. Her sense of revolt was fuelled by her personal sacrifice, which she saw as unjustifiable: she would have loved to pursue her education, but all Quebec's Roman Catholic francophone university faculties at that time were closed to women.
Anxious to learn more about what seemed to her a terrible anomaly, Marie set about studying the history of societies and of women as well as law. It was during this time that she formed several convictions that were to guide her all her life. Among them was her belief that civil law was unjust to women, mainly with regard to changes in their civil status after marriage: they then came under the guardianship of their husbands and became incompetents from a legal standpoint. Without the formal approval of her spouse, a woman had no power of consent.
The husband's authority in the family and in civil society, which was inscribed in law, made the wife into a powerless dependant and even, in certain cases, a victim of abuse. Taking a stance that was opposed to the specious theories about the physical and intellectual inferiority of the members of the so-called weaker sex, Marie believed that such notions were a monstrous error that must be put right as soon as possible. Yet the inferiority of women was also part of the expressed ideas and practice of religion, and Marie was an ardent believer. She wondered how she could overcome this contradiction without being called a heretic. She found the answer by steeping herself in the story of the life of Jesus, who came to save all the souls on earth, because only souls - and not inferior and superior beings – appear before God.
In 1884 she met the young lawyer Henri Gérin-Lajoie, a son of the man of letters Antoine Gérin-Lajoie* and Joséphine-Henriette Parent, a daughter of the moderate Patriote Étienne Parent*. She developed a high regard for him and realized that the liberal milieu to which he belonged would be of service to the goal she had set herself: working to elevate the status of women. Their marriage was celebrated on 11 Jan. 1887 and subsequently she gave birth to Marie*, Henri, Alexandre, and Léon. While devoting several hours a day to her reading and charity work, thanks to the presence of servants, she saw to the smooth running of her household and to the religious, moral, and academic education of her children, who could read, write, and count before they started school.
The publication of the papal encyclical Rerum novarum in 1891, which reconciled Catholicism with certain social values such as the right to strike, as well as the rise of Christian feminism in France, allowed Marie Gérin-Lajoie to combine her desire for reform with her personal faith. She had already realized that the Catholic religion was not immutable and that its precepts had evolved over the centuries in a manner much more human than divine. Her contact with Christian feminists, notably Marie Maugeret, who wanted to promote women's equality while denouncing the libertarian tendencies of the early European and American feminists, gave a definitive direction and meaning to her commitment. Marie finally could openly declare herself a feminist and act accordingly.
In a society that was as Christian in its institutions and morality as the one in which she lived, the feminist movement, to be accepted, had to ally itself with the social-reform movement in which women were already very engaged. This movement, which came within the Christian tradition of charity, endeavoured to denounce the sometimes-deplorable living conditions of the working class and it had been well received by the male elites for several decades. There was a natural shift towards feminist action since women of the labouring classes were generally the worst off of all.
Brought together within charitable organizations or literary societies, female militants, who were mainly anglophone, began to take public action to supply solutions for the social problems of their day. In 1893 the National Council of Women of Canada and its Montreal chapter were founded. Marie joined in, participating for the first time in an organized movement that saw the common situation of women as one of the most glaring contemporary problems. She already believed firmly that women had to unite in order to improve their collective and individual lot.
In a province dominated by Catholicism and where speaking in public was a daring act for a woman, a francophone Catholic woman's membership in the NCWC, an anglophone and non-denominational organization, was neither obvious nor simple. Within the council Marie met avant-garde French Canadian women: Marguerite Thibaudeau [Lamothe*], a woman committed to numerous causes, as well as the journalists Joséphine Dandurand [Marchand*] and Robertine Barry*. The latter two would publish articles by Marie in their respective periodicals in Montreal, Le Coin du feu and Le Journal de Françoise. In 1900 she became a member of the executive committee of the NCWC's Montreal chapter and led several awareness-raising campaigns focused on increasing the categories of women eligible to vote in Montreal municipal elections and defending the rights of female workers.
Increasingly assertive, Marie got involved in various controversies regarding, among other things, the right to higher education and the right to have the job of one's choice. In a book published by the NCWC in 1900, Women of Canada: their life and work; compiled … for distribution at the Paris International Exhibition, 1900, she again took up one of her favourite subjects in a chapter entitled "Legal status of women in the province of Quebec." Her interest in law, combined with her desire to combat women's ignorance, which was the source of their inferior status, led to an ambitious project: writing a book about law for the general public. Thus in 1902 she published A treatise on everyday law (Montreal), which dealt with the legislation governing the private life of women. With this tool, she attempted to have law introduced into school curricula as a subject. In Montreal the convent in Hochelaga, the College du Mont-Saint-Louis, and the Académie Sainte-Marie, among others, welcomed her as an instructor or guest lecturer, as did a few anglophone secondary schools and the McGill Normal School. Her reputation as an educator grew and she was invited to address a number of women's associations.
Marie was resolved to remedy the deficiencies in the teaching of girls. She was also determined that her daughter, Marie, would be able to go to university. Yet no francophone establishment in Quebec at the time awarded females the diploma necessary for entry into higher education. In 1906 she helped set up the Écoles Ménagères Provinciales, of which she was a founding-committee member [see Jeanne Anctil*]. Subsequently, owing to her discreet pressure on Archbishop Paul Bruchési* of Montreal, and with the help of Mother Sainte-Anne-Marie [Bengle*], a nun in the Congregation of Notre-Dame whom she held in high esteem, Marie Gérin-Lajoie would be able to attend the opening of the École d'Enseignement Supérieur pour les Jeunes Filles in 1908. Thus young Marie would become the first French Canadian woman to obtain a baccalauréat ès arts.
Since 1903 Marie had been considering the creation of an alliance of women's benevolent groups like the NCWC, but one that would be francophone and Catholic. A woman of action and an unparalleled organizer, she believed that this approach was the only way for women's charitable involvement to become truly effective and help eradicate certain social ills at their source. As a member of the women's chapter of the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal since its founding in 1902, she persuaded its president, Caroline Béïque [Dessaulles], to turn the chapter into such an alliance. Thus was born the Fédération Nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 1907. Caroline retained the presidency of the new organization, while Marie became secretary, a position she would hold until 1913. Archbishop Bruchési let himself be convinced that the new social Catholicism, to which he was receptive, was not dangerous to the social order; his moral authority silenced the sarcasm and criticism that arose from all quarters, especially when Marie announced her firm intention to bring about the establishment of professional associations for women. Backed by women sympathetic to the cause, including the journalist Anne-Marie Gleason [Huguenin] and the patroness Aglaé Rottot, she succeeded in setting up, in 1907 and 1908, a few of these quasi-union associations, in particular among female factory workers.
The FNSJB brought together several religious communities, among them the Sisters of Charity of Providence and parish groups as well as various women's organizations, such as Mlle E. Viger's academy and the Écoles Ménagères Provinciales; in all, there were 22 affiliated societies. The delegates met at annual general assemblies, celebrations, and conferences. The executive board oversaw various committees that drew public attention to several important causes. Marie was herself a member of the committees on temperance, celebrations, relief funds, and the press. The FNSJB focused first on combatting women's ignorance, her main concern. Members of professional and parish associations were offered ever more numerous and varied lectures and classes, from sewing to law, as well as membership in study circles. Conferences greatly aided efforts to spread information and amalgamate forces. Representatives of affiliated organizations put forward, in effect, sociological surveys on both the cause they were promoting and the social fate awaiting certain kinds of women. In 1909, for example, the Sisters of Miséricorde presented a well-documented work on ways of preventing prostitution. These conferences not only allowed women to speak out at last in public and bring to light the real lives of French Canadian women but also to determine the direction of future actions.
The second cause that the FNSJB defended throughout Marie's tenure as president, from 1913 to 1933, was the improvement of the collective lot of women. For this purpose, at the outset of her first term, she was instrumental in founding its organ, La Bonne Parole, which would be published in Montreal until 1958. All the important causes that the federation became involved in would be explained and defended in its pages. Moreover, she united the creative energies of the FNSJB volunteers in campaigns focused on making elites aware of the injustices to women created by certain laws and on getting the necessary revisions. For example, she fought for a change in the rights of inheritance, which was presented by the legislative councillor and notary Narcisse Pérodeau* and passed in 1915 by the legislative assembly. Under her presidency, the FNSJB became distinctly more militant, taking up causes such as the defence of women whose right to work was contested, a campaign to amend the Civil Code, the extension of the franchise, and the admission of women into the liberal professions and to positions of responsibility in the world of education.
In 1918 the federal government granted all women the right to vote [see Sir Robert Laird Borden*]; three years later, for the first time, Canadian women would be called to the polls. Understanding the importance of the moment, Marie organized various events to raise awareness, such as a "civics course" for women at the Université de Montréal, where lecturers outlined the major principles of public action and gave practical explanations about the vote. This huge effort to inform, which also included a press campaign, produced concrete results: a great many women cast ballots without incident.
The struggle for the right to vote in the province of Quebec took off in earnest at the end of 1921. With the president of the Montreal chapter of the NCWC, Anna Marks Lyman, Marie established the Provincial Franchise Committee, a central body coordinating the efforts of several militant women's associations, and of which the two women became co-presidents. Idola Saint-Jean, Thérèse Casgrain [Forget*], and Carrie Matilda Derick were among the 32 women present at the founding meeting. The first joint action involved introducing a bill in Quebec City in the winter of 1922 through the intervention of Henry Miles, mp for the riding of Montréal-Saint-Laurent. Although Marie had long been aware that the province's bishops were hostile towards women's suffrage, she was surprised at the strength of the anti-suffragist media campaign. Certain bishops used all their power to persuade their flock that granting women the right to vote was contrary to Catholic doctrine. Fortunately, Mgr Georges Gauthier*, recently appointed apostolic administrator owing to the illness of Archbishop Bruchési, left her at liberty to take part in the struggle for the franchise as president of the FNSJB.
The bill was introduced but did not get past first reading. The media build-up surrounding the presence of a feminist delegation in Quebec City nevertheless served the cause. Marie was convinced that she had to go to Rome to seek support. Pope Pius XI agreed with extending the rights of women, on condition that women's associations, closely supervised by the church, devote themselves to improving social life, the supposedly natural expansion of women's maternal role. She took advantage of the conference of the International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues, which was held in Rome in May 1922, to try and obtain clear direction. But Henri Bourassa* was on the alert. Vehemently opposed to women's suffrage, this journalist and polemicist had privileged access to the Vatican, notably through Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, papal delegate to the conference and chairman of the sessions. Marie believed that it was Bourassa who, by influence peddling, succeeded in having added to the resolutions adopted at the conference a clause that obliged women to receive the approval of their episcopate prior to obtaining the right to vote. In Quebec such approval was impossible at the time.
Marie resigned as president of the Provincial Franchise Committee at the end of 1922. She judged it wiser to associate the FNSJB with an initiative that was less controversial but just as important in her eyes: the civic education of women. Thus, the federation sponsored a series of classes at the Université de Montréal. The federal elections held in quick succession in 1925 and 1926 led her to believe that once more the time had come to throw the weight of the FNSJB, through the Provincial Franchise Committee, behind the struggle to obtain the right to vote municipally and provincially. She sought the approval of Mgr Gauthier. He prevaricated, then refused, and shortly afterwards stated publicly that he was opposed to women's suffrage. In 1929 Marie therefore retired permanently from the committee, of which she had remained until then a member as president of the FNSJB.
Since 1925 the FNSJB had owned the building it occupied, and its secretarial offices were run by the Institut des Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil, founded by Marie's daughter, who had become a nun. At the beginning of the 1930s Marie devoted a great deal of energy to Civil Code reform. For decades she had been proposing, on every platform, various measures to moderate, with respect to women, the terms of the matrimonial regime known as community of property. She took advantage of the Commission des Droits Civils de la Femme, set up in 1929 by the government of Louis-Alexandre Taschereau* and chaired by the judge Charles-Édouard Dorion [see Joseph Sirois], to present her suggestions. Though she did not demand the abolition of legal incapacity, which she knew would be too bold, she urged the commissioners to ensure that a married woman's salary would become the sole property of the person who earned it. This change in the category of a wife's reserved property was to form one of the commission's recommendations. The legislative amendments then put into force were for the most part suggested by Marie, who had promoted them in her work and publications, such as her articles in La Bonne Parole.
In May 1933, after the 25th-anniversary celebrations of the FNSJB, Marie left the office of president. She was 65 years old. She continued to work on various committees until 1936, the year that her husband, who had been struck by a car, died following the accident. After this event her intellectual abilities seemed to deteriorate rapidly. She settled into a small apartment at the Institut des Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil. By the time the franchise was finally given to women in the province of Quebec in 1940, she had lost all touch with reality. She died on 1 Nov. 1945.
Marie Gérin-Lajoie did not wait for the achievement of the right to vote before becoming publicly involved and trying to correct what she considered men's abuses of power against women or those who were badly off. Endowed with a deep sense of social justice and fairness, she devoted her talents to various causes directed at furthering women's independence by their taking their own destinies into their hands. Her favoured causes were the encouragement of every kind of education and real participation in collective decision making, notably through the choice of parliamentary representatives. At a time when, in the province of Quebec, francophone feminists had no means whatsoever of exerting organized pressure, she set up the FNSJB. She not only made a forceful contribution to changing attitudes but also opened the way for the dramatic rise of Quebec's feminist movement during the Quiet Revolution.
An exhaustive bibliography appears in the author's book, Marie Gérin-Lajoie, conquérante de la liberté (Montréal, 2005).
Bibliothèque et Arch. Nationales du Québec, Centre d'arch. de Montréal, CE601-S33, 11 janv. 1887; CE601-S51, 20 oct. 1867; P578. Instit. Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil de Montréal, Fonds Marie Gérin-Lajoie, s.b.c., 1890-1971. Le Devoir (Montréal), 2 nov. 1945. Maryse Darsigny, "Du Comité Provincial du Suffrage Féminin à la Ligue des Droits de la Femme (1922-1940): le second souffle du mouvement féministe au Québec de la première moitié du XXe siècle" (mémoire de ma, univ. du Québec à Montréal, 1994); L'épopée du suffrage féminin au Québec, 1920-1940 ([Montréal], 1990). Les femmes dans la société québécoise, sous la dir. de Marie Lavigne et Yolande Pinard (Montréal, 1977). Karine Hébert, "Une organisation maternaliste au Québec, la Fédération Nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste (1900-1940)" (mémoire de ma, univ. de Montréal, 1997). Danyèle Lacombe, "Marie Gérin-Lajoie's hidden crucifixes: social Catholicism, feminism and Québec modernity, 1910-1930" (ma thesis, Univ. of Alta, Edmonton, 1998). Mireille Lebeau, Répertoire numérique détaillé du fonds Marie Gérin-Lajoie (1867-1945) (Montréal, 2000). Mireille Lebeau et Marcienne Proulx, Répertoire numérique détaillé du fonds Marie Gérin-Lajoie, SBC, 1890-1971 (Montréal, 2002). M. P. Malouin, Entre le rêve et la réalité: Marie Gérin-Lajoie et l'histoire du Bon-Conseil (Saint-Laurent [Montréal], 1998). Yolande Pinard, "Le féminisme à Montréal au commencement du XXe siècle, 1893-1920" (mémoire de ma, univ. du Québec à Montréal, 1976). Marcienne Proulx, "L'action sociale de Marie Gérin-Lajoie, 1910-1925" (mémoire de ma, univ. de Sherbrooke, Québec, 1975). Travailleuses et féministes: les femmes dans la société québécoise, sous la dir. de Marie Lavigne et Yolande Pinard (Montréal, 1983). Luigi Trifiro, "La crise de 1922 dans la lutte pour le suffrage féminin au Québec" (mémoire de ma, univ. de Sherbrooke, 1976).
© 2011–2024 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Image Gallery
Cite This Article
Anne-Marie Sicotte, "LACOSTE, MARIE (baptized Marie-Thaïs-Élodie-Coralie) (Gérin-Lajoie)," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 17, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 25, 2024, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/lacoste_marie_17E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
Permalink: | http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/lacoste_marie_17E.html |
Author of Article: | Anne-Marie Sicotte |
Title of Article: | LACOSTE, MARIE (baptized Marie-Thaïs-Élodie-Coralie) (Gérin-Lajoie) |
Publication Name: | Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 17 |
Publisher: | University of Toronto/Université Laval |
Year of publication: | 2011 |
Year of revision: | 2011 |
Access Date: | February 25, 2024 |


text:
Pediculosis is a common problem in school-aged children. Head lice poses no real health risk to the population, however, since the condition can be transmitted to others, proper and successful treatment is essential. Our goal is to educate students and parents on proper identification and elimination of head lice and nits. Head lice are easily treated if detected early and spread to others is minimized as well. Periodic head checks by parents, resulting in early detection, treatment and removal of live lice and nits, is the most reliable method for controlling pediculosis.
Bright light, ideally combined with magnification if available, is necessary to be able to spot the lice eggs or nits. Viable eggs are located within the first ½" of the hair shaft close to the scalp. They are very small, sometimes camouflaging to match the pigment of the hair color of the infested person and often can be spotted in the hair along the nape of the neck or behind the ears. The eggs attach firmly and must be literally scraped off the hair compared to dandruff which can easily be blown or flicked away. Live lice are much more difficult to spot as they avoid light and can crawl quickly.
If you see something on your child's hair and are unsure as to whether or not it may be nits, please contact your healthcare provider or your school nurse to assist in identification. School nurses are a great resource as we all have extensive experience with this issue. We will provide you with information on management if a positive identification is made, but do ask that you contact your healthcare provider for any recommendations on medicated shampoos. Children may return to school after being treated, but must be examined by the school nurse before returning to the classroom. As a courtesy, parents should notify close contacts of their children.
In accordance with the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses, we are no longer screening entire classrooms for head lice as it has not been proven to be effective in dealing with the problem.Screenings involve a large amount of classroom time and when an outbreak is occurring, daily scalp checks over a period of several weeks are necessary. These frequent thorough scalp checks are best accomplished at home and, as mentioned previously, if you have questions or concerns, please give your school nurse a call.
In depth information on head lice and its treatment and prevention can be found at:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Artificial lights on the beach such as from flashlights, and lighting from nearby developments, can be very dangerous for sea turtles. Lighting and sea turtle protection is regulated by the Environmental Resources Management division of Palm Beach County. Please visit their website or call 561-233-2400 to learn more about this topic including permitting requirements, sea turtle facts, and how to find sites to go on an approved sea turtle walk with a licensed guide. One of the guiding factors of the Town's seagrape trimming permit is the sea turtle nesting season, where trimming is limited during the season in order to allow the seagrapes to grow and shield the beach from nearby artificial light sources.
Show All Answers
It depends on whether you live in a neighborhood with a development approval or not. Most formal developments and subdivisions in Town have a development approval which includes an approved Site Plan and Landscape Plan of record on file with the Town. Most of these neighborhoods have a Homeowners Association (HOA), which should be able to answer your question. However, when in doubt, please contact Natural Resources.
ANSWER (a): If you live in a neighborhood with a development approval and a HOA, and the trees or vegetation are located on your lot of residence, you do not need Town approval, only HOA approval. However, there is an exception to this: if the tree in question is a street tree (usually located within the green space between the sidewalk and edge of road) or is a tree or vegetation on a common area, then Town approval is required. In these cases, the HOA should apply to the Town for a Vegetation Removal Permit.
ANSWER (b): If you do not live in a neighborhood with a development approval or a HOA - these are older neighborhoods (see list below), often referred to as "charter" neighborhoods - you do not need Town approval to remove trees or vegetation if they are located on a developed lot. These older neighborhoods are exempt, because at the time of development, there were no requirements for a minimum amount of preserved native vegetation or landscaping. If the lot in question is undeveloped, or is not zoned Residential, please contact Natural Resources.
The older neighborhoods are: Pine Gardens North, Pine Gardens South, East View Manor, Jupiter River Estates, Penn Park, Brentwood North, Brentwood South, Riverside Drive Park, Olympus, North Palm Beach Heights, and most streets north/south of Center Street.
Removal of mangroves is not permitted by the Town - the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection oversees mangrove protection. Requests for a permit to trim or remove mangroves should be directed to the DEP. The Southeast District office contact number is 561-681-6600.
Trimming of mangroves is regulated by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Contact the Southeast District office at 561-681-6600 to determine if the trimming should be conducted by a Professional Mangrove Trimmer. The DEP maintains a list of PMTs.
Town policy does not allow us to recommend any companies. We do recommend that for any tree trimming, you choose an ISA Certified Arborist to ensure proper pruning techniques are followed. The ISA maintains a database of arborists, which you can search by zip code.
Please visit Palm Beach County Business Registration they can help research and verify any business registered with the county.
The Public Works Department maintains the medians and can answer questions on this topic. 561-748-2730
This is a private and civil matter between property owners. Please discuss this with your neighbor.
Please contact the Public Works Department at 561-748-2730.
Please contact Code Compliance at 561-741-2477.
These properties require a Vegetation Removal permit may be required for Residential, Commercial, Multi-family and Industrial. If modifying landscaping - say a few plant switch outs with other plants, then a zoning determination letter requesting the changes. If they are doing a significant amount of change in the landscaping, they will need to submit a new landscape plan with a site plan amendment fee and a letter of request. Contact Planning & Zoning at 561-741-2323.
Yes, a Permit Application for Vegetation Removal is required in order to identify and verify the exotic and/or prohibited plants to be removed as well as identify and protect any native trees and vegetation that should remain.
The sections of beachfront that are owned by the Town are trimmed according to the terms and limitations of an approved State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit. The DEP regulates the protection of beach dunes and beach dune vegetation as well as trimming of beach dune vegetation. The trimming work is coordinated through the Public Works Department 561-741-2730. One of the guiding factors of the Town's seagrape trimming permit is the sea turtle nesting season, where trimming is limited during the season in order to allow the seagrapes to grow and shield the beach from nearby artificial light sources. Adult and hatchling sea turtles rely on the dark backdrop of the beach dunes and vegetation to point them towards the open ocean, which is brighter due to the reflection of moonlight. Artificial light can be very dangerous to sea turtles because the artificial light competes with the natural moonlight on which they rely for orientation. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has more information about the disorientation of sea turtles caused by artificial lighting.
Yes. A Building Permit is required, and is reviewed by multiple departments, including Building, Engineering, Planning and Zoning, and the Natural Resources division of Planning and Zoning. Docks and boatlifts must comply with all code provisions in the Marine Facilities section of Chapter 27 of the Jupiter Town Code. This section of Code describes the items that are required to submit an application, setback distances specific to each zoning district, as well as shape, size, and design requirements. All applications must include authorizations from all other applicable entities such as Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corps of Engineers, and Homeowner's Association. Please contact Planning and Zoning at 561-741-2323 with questions.
Yes, but the location of the seawall is dependent on if the property has an existing seawall that meets the definition of a Bulkhead in Town Code or if the existing shoreline stabilization on the property meets the definition of a Revetment in Town Code. If the property does not have an existing seawall as defined by Town Code, other options are available such as a riprap or an upland retaining wall. All options require permitting with the Town. Prior to submitting a permit application, the Town recommends having a pre-application meeting with Natural Resources and Planning staff. Staff are able to help determine if the existing shoreline stabilization meets the definition of a bulkhead or revetment, and will provide the replacement options available as determined by Code. All applications must include authorizations from all other applicable entities such as Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corps of Engineers, and Homeowner's Association. Please contact Planning and Zoning at 561-741-2323 with questions.
The South Florida Water Management District has a year-round landscape irrigation rule that limits lawn and garden watering. Details on what days and times are appropriate to water are available on their website. SFWMD can also be reached by phone at 561-686-8800.


text:
(visited by Werner Beiergroesslein)
12-Jun-2002 -- Coming from Thessaloniki on the mainroad E86 I turned north, direction of Aridea and Sosandra. About 4km west of Sosandra I parked the car at the cemetry of the little village Likostomo, while the GPS shows the confluence 1.5km in northeast direction. Up a hill I follow a winding trail, which I have to leave after a few hundred meters, crossing a rough, dry meadow covered by lots of thistles. On the other side of the hill the confluence happens to be behind an uncrossable long hedge of bramble. Following alongside the hedge for about 200m I find an breakthrough through the hedge and find myself in a field of clover, which is flater and deeper than the surrounding area and contains the confluence in an altitude of 300m on one of its longside edges. I reached the confluence at 16:15pm. Pics 1-4 show the view from the confluence in north, east, south and west-direction, pic 5 the GPS on the confluence. The mountains you see on pic 1 and 2 belong to Nidze-chain and behind these mountain lies FYROM (former yugoslavian republic of Macedonia), pic 3 and 4 give you an idea of the thorny hedge surrounding the cloverfield.
Leaving the field on the other side I find an agricultural road which would have made it much easier to approach the confluence. Following visitors should try to find the small road approaching not from Likostomo but maybe from Sosandra, from eastern direction.


text:
NJ OKs sports betting, off-track betting laws
Jan 10, 2012, 2:52 AM
Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Twenty years after missing a deadline to let its residents bet on professional or collegiate sporting events, New Jersey legislators passed a law Monday night that would make it legal.
But that was the easy part. Once Gov. Chris Christie has signed the measure, as expected, the state faces an uphill battle in federal court to try to overturn a law banning sports betting in all but four states.
The state Senate and Assembly adopted a bill that would let New Jerseyans place bets at the 11 Atlantic City casinos and the state's four horse racing tracks on football, baseball, basketball and other professional or college sports games. Bets could not be placed on games involving New Jersey collegiate teams.
"These votes, by both houses of the legislature and the voters of New Jersey, mark the beginning of the end of the inequitable federal ban on sports betting," said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a northern New Jersey Democrat who has been the measure's strongest proponent. "This time next year our residents won't have to fly to Las Vegas or visit their local bookie to bet on the Giants, Jets or Eagles to win the Super Bowl. They will be able to go to an Atlantic City casino, Monmouth Racetrack or The Meadowlands."
Lesniak, who sued the federal government in an effort to overturn the ban, only to see his lawsuit dismissed, predicted the state will have better luck in court, particularly given that New jersey residents indicated by a 2-to-1 margin in a non-binding referendum in last November's election that they favor legalized sports betting.
Channeling his inner Rex Ryan, the prediction-prone coach of the New York Jets, Lesniak said, "I guarantee a victory in the federal courts for New Jersey to be able to enjoy the same benefits from sports betting Congress has given to Nevada."
New Jersey missed a 1991 federal deadline to legalize sports betting, and was left out of the 1992 law that allowed it in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana. Nevada is the only state taking legal bets on individual games.
Sports betting proponents want to help the state's struggling casinos and horse racing tracks, where bets would be taken, and provide a new source of tax revenue from a huge pool of money flowing untaxed to illegal bookmakers often allied with organized crime, or to unlicensed offshore Internet sites.
Lesniak had to drop a provision that would have let residents bet from their home computers or cell phones in order to improve the odds that Christie will sign the bill. The Republican governor endorsed the referendum before the vote was held.
The Atlantic City casinos welcomed passage of the bill, saying it would help them compete with gambling houses in neighboring states, and offer one more attraction to customers who now have more gambling options than ever before.
"If and when the federal ban is overturned, this law would permit casinos to accept wagers on sporting events, adding another amenity to enhance our ability to compete and grow as a destination resort," the Casino Association of New Jersey said in a statement released Monday. "Legalized sports betting would provide an economic boost for Atlantic City and the entire state of New Jersey, as it would attract more tourists to our city and its world-class entertainment, thriving restaurants, brand-name retail shopping and world-famous Boardwalk."
The legislature was also expected to approve a measure allowing horse racing fans to place bets from up to 12 bars or restaurants in northern and central New Jersey. And it passed a law requiring holders of permits to build off-track betting parlors who have not yet built them to do so within a year, or forfeit a $1 million bond and lose the right to build such a facility.
Wayne Parry can be reached at
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
It is one of the most coveted awards in the international aviation industry. Year after year, suppliers, major aircraft manufacturers, universities and airlines alike join the fray in the hope of holding aloft one of the snow-white Crystal Cabin Award trophies.
In 2018, the most prestigious prize for aircraft cabins and passenger comfort will be presented for the 12th time, with a record number of entries for the fifth year in a row. A total 91 innovative concepts from 18 countries have made it onto the shortlist this time around. The spectrum ranges from individual lightweight components to a long-haul VIP aircraft with on-board cinema, from a practical economy-class module to a first-class suite.
In the industry, a victory in the Crystal Cabin Award ceremony is the equivalent of a knighthood, and the global media resonance is significant too. The decisions of the 28 expert jury members on this year's pioneering aviation concepts will be finalised on 10 April, 2018, during the industry's leading trade show, the Aircraft Interiors Expo (10 — 12 April, 2018).
Five prominent aircraft manufacturers are represented on the Crystal Cabin Awards shortlist this year: Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer and Gulfstream. Other major players in the industry, such as Diehl, Rockwell Collins and Zodiac Aerospace are shortlisted too, joined by student concepts from ten universities from all over the world.
Double bed and family suite
Making flying almost like a hotel stay, distinguished international airlines are also amongst the shortlisted candidates for the 12th Crystal Cabin Awards, particularly in the premium segment.
The new A380 first-class suites from Singapore Airlines, for example, create an experience not far removed from a hotel room. And if you are not travelling alone, a crew member can remove the partition wall to the neighbouring suite and you will have a real double bed.
Qatar Airways goes one step further with the new Business Class QSuite: where needed, up to four seats can be faced at each other to create an "open-plan compartment" for the whole family.
There's good news for those whose budget is more likely to see them travelling in the open plan section of an intercity train, too: the new Airspace Cabin on the Airbus A320neo will provide a hotel-like atmosphere for all classes on short- and medium-haul flights.
Every millimeter counts, and economy passengers benefit too
But even the most stylish design is cold comfort for a passenger engaging in a battle for the armrest in a cramped economy seat.
At least the industry seems to have recognised the problem. Numerous shortlisted entries for the Crystal Cabin Award are focussed explicitly on the passenger experience in the "back rows" of the cabin. There are two entries of innovative armrests with space for two elbows. And the noise-absorbing headrest from seat manufacturer Haeco will bring smiles of relief to those who are disturbed by the neighbouring passenger's choice of volume; with a single movement, the headrest folds across the ears.
The queue for the toilet may soon be a thing of the past, too, when the new lavatory concept from Jamco and the urinal solution from Zodiac Aerospace significantly reduce the time spent in the smallest cabin on the plane.
The digital aircraft cabin: 3D screens and virtual reality
The Crystal Cabin Award shortlist, of course, does not only cover the basic needs of the passengers. There are numerous submissions in the multimedia area that will delight every tech fan and make sure that time spent on board flies — both figuratively and literally.
This includes the first 3D monitor for in-flight entertainment and even VR glasses for deep immersion in new entertainment worlds in the sky. Another digital trend is the extension of the flight experience to include the time before boarding, such as individual seat selection via a virtual walk through the cabin, and advance selection of films and music on the passenger's own smartphone or tablet.
Innovations the passenger doesn't see
The increasing digitalisation benefits not just passengers, but also the airlines themselves. Particularly good examples are provided by engineering service provider Altran, with a system for sending relevant information to crew members via smartwatch, and Airbus, with plans to print the cabin electronics on panels instead of tedious cabling work. And if simple improvements in everyday passenger experience are what you are looking for, rather than futuristic industry concepts, you will be taken with the unpreposessing box produced by US manufacturer Astronics, allowing for rapid recharging of your own laptop via USB.
What's next in the 12th Crystal Cabin Award?
The Crystal Cabin Award, initiated by the cluster Hamburg Aviation, is awarded in eight categories: "Cabin Concepts", "Cabin Systems", "Electronic Systems", "Greener Cabin, Health, Safety and Environment", "Material & Components", "Passenger Comfort Hardware", "University", and "Visionary Concepts".
For each category, the 28 international experts on the Judging Panel choose three shortlist entries as finalists (announced at the start of March). These concepts can then be pitched to the jury in person within the framework of the world's leading trade fair for aircraft cabins, the Aircraft Interiors Expo (Hamburg, 10 – 12 April).
Acclaimed industry award – acclaimed industry support
The Crystal Cabin Award stands for the idea of an independent platform for the industry to promote and honour innovation in aviation worldwide.
The list of sponsors and media partners of the Crystal Cabin Awards reads like a Who's Who of the international aviation industry: Airbus, Aircraft Cabin Management, Aircraft Interiors Expo (Reed Exhibitions), Aircraft Interiors International Magazine, Aircraft Interiors Middle East, ALTRAN S.A.S. Co. KG, APEX, ATR, Bishop GmbH Aeronautical Engineers, Boltaron, DIEHL Aerosystems Holding, FERCHAU AVIATION Division, FIT AG, Flightchic, Flightglobal, Future Travel Experience, Global Eagle Entertainment, HAECO Cabin Solutions, Inflight Magazine, Jetliner Cabins, Lufthansa Technik AG, Panasonic, Rockwell Collins, Runway Girl Network, SEKISUI SPI and Thales.
You too can become a supporter of the Crystal Cabin Award. Information on sponsorship opportunities and packages is available from Carmen Krause (firstname.lastname@example.com).
About the Crystal Cabin Award
The Crystal Cabin Award is THE international prize for innovations in the field of aircraft cabins and passenger experience. A high-calibre jury made up of renowned academics, engineers, specialist journalists and airline and aircraft manufacturer representatives comes together under the slogan "Let your ideas take off" to honour extraordinary cabin concepts and products. The competition was launched by Hamburg Aviation and is organised by the Crystal Cabin Award Association. The award, to date the only one of its kind, has been presented as part of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg every year since 2007.


text:
The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, and a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The Brooklyn Bridge connects two New York City boroughs: Manhattan and Brooklyn, soaring over the East River. The Brooklyn Bridge is an iconic part of NYC and in order to truly appreciate the Brooklyn Bridges' beauty you have to walk on it, this is the only way for you to actually experience the true beauty of the Bridge. It's not a terribly long walk, just about at 30 minutes from Brooklyn into Manhattan with some time for picture takings, admiring the structure and architecture of the bridge itself and enjoying the views of the city from above the East River. Afterward you will gain a new found respect and appreciation of the bridge and its history.
If you have time on your visit, check out famous Grimaldi's Pizzeria, located directly underneath the exit of the bridge, in DUMBO. You can't just visit the Brooklyn Bridge without having a Grimaldi's Pizza slice.


text:
If your life intersects with mine through Community Church, facebook, or twitter, you are well aware that much of my time and energy over the last few weeks has been focused on Haiti. Our church community is blessed to have some direct connections to people who live and work there, and we've been fairly engaged in what they've been doing since very early after the earthquake. I encourage you to check out the amazing work happening on the ground and give generously to Heartline.
I've been so engrossed in all things Haiti that I sometimes forget that not everyone around me is quite as preoccupied as I am. I'm not mad about that. I'm well aware that tragedy occurs everyday without me giving it more than seven or eight seconds of real thought, much less any investment of actual time, money, or energy. I'm obviously no hero for caring about Haiti (or for any other reason...well, unless you count my ability to perform Ice Ice Baby from memory, which is borderline heroic anyway you slice it). I can't completely tell you why I've been so captivated by this one. But here I am.
There is so much that I'd like to write about as a result of what I've witnessed, even at a distance, over the last couple of weeks. So much that I'd like to write about, but most of it is still a big swirl of stuff inside me for which I can't find words. Maybe soon.
Until then, something tangential has emerged that I can wrap some words around: children.
Over the past two weeks, I've watched from afar (but weirdly up close thanks to the disturbing and wonderful magic of the interwebs) moments and events that have been both soul-crushing and utterly inspiring. I've seen pictures of freshly orphaned kids having limbs amputated and witnessed (virtually) the unification of multiple families. It is simultaneously invigorating and devastating to be reminded that children are not exempt from the indescribably wide range of human experience on this planet.
The most beautiful and fascinating aspect of this unfolding drama that I've witnessed has been the forming and reforming of families changed forever by the arrival of Haitian children - orphans, but orphans no more. Against the backdrop of blood and bone and utter ruin, kids with no families were suddenly at home. Moms. Dads. Brothers. Sisters. All at once, and sooner than anyone expected.
We are connected by one degree of separation to at least four such families. These are folks (Americans) who were well into the process of adopting children from Haiti, still waiting on the red tape to play itself out so they could go get them. In the early days after the quake, the Haitian and U.S. governments worked together to expedite the last stages of these adoptions.
It made sense. These were adoptions that had been approved by both governments (and all sorts of other people - this isn't like buying groceries) which were just stuck in various kinds of waiting periods. If you don't know much about adoption, know this: it's as much about waiting as anything else. Lots and lots of waiting. So the powers-that-be agreed to set aside some of the waiting and get these kids out of Haiti and into homes they were headed to soon anyway.
And that lasted for a very short time.
Details are still not entirely clear - Haiti wasn't great at details before the capital city and virtually all of its infrastructure was completely destroyed - but essentially the Haitian Prime Minister declared that no child could leave Haiti without him personally signing off on that child's exit.
Obviously one of the legitimate concerns in Haiti right now is human trafficking. Our community has also been involved in the efforts of International Justice Mission over the past couple of years. IJM may be the most amazing organization on the planet at the moment. Imagine the Super Friends (only without Marvin and Wendy but with a pile of lawyers to go along with the butt-kickers) commissioned to end slavery and sex trafficking around the world. These people are kicking in doors and putting the baddest of the bad guys in the world behind bars every day. I can't articulate with enough passion how much I and my people believe in that cause. It's the Gospel - the cause we've staked our whole lives to - in action.
So we want the Prime Minister of Haiti - and everyone else who can - to protect the most vulnerable people in Haiti, certainly including and especially displaced and orphaned children. In that sense the Haitian Prime Minister approving kids leaving the country might not sound crazy. After all, we aren't talking about hundreds of kids a day. Under normal circumstances, it might be possible for the PM to review these cases in a timely manner and approve the legal adoptions that have followed all the accepted international protocols. Under normal circumstances.
These are not normal circumstances.
It might not surprise you to hear that the Prime Minister of Haiti has a few things on his plate today. And piled among the utter chaos he's managing is now the paperwork for kids who already have been legally adopted by families outside of the country but who are stuck in a Haiti that simply cannot care for them at the moment. Some of them have nowhere to go. There are a large number of them literally living at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.
Case in point: Ernest and his wife Debra, another couple we have multiple once-removed connections to, have already legally adopted their son Ronel from Haiti. Like many others, they were just playing the waiting game. Ronel was supposed to be on a military flight to Florida on January 22 with a number of other orphans granted humanitarian parole, but something got goofed up in the paperwork and he wasn't allowed to board the plane. He rode a bus to the airport expecting to fly home to his family, and he rode that bus back to the orphanage. He was devastated.
When Ernest and Debra found out about this, Ernest became one of my (and many other people's) new heroes and tunneled his way to Port-au-Prince to get his son. [The tunneling part may not be true. It's just how I like to imagine it.] That journey started nine days ago. Tonight Ernest and Ronel are sleeping on the tile floor of the U.S. Embassy for the seventh straight night.
Their paperwork is complete, despite it taking our highly efficient and compassionate government several days and four sets of fingerprints to make that happen. They're just waiting for the embassy to tell them that the Haitian Prime Minister has released Ronel. There are about sixty others, most of them orphans, waiting with them in the same predicament. We all thought they were coming home today because, in a twist that managed to shock even my no-faith-in-government system, the staff at the U.S. embassy apparently lied to them and said they were cleared to leave if they could find a plane. They found a plane. The folks at the embassy then said, "Oh, uh...we weren't serious about that. The Prime Minister still hasn't signed your documents." Yeah, me either.
Ronel and the other kids have been thoroughly checked by the U.S. government, granted humanitarian parole, and will be received into the U.S. under the watchful eye of immigration services. And yet they can't go anywhere because they either can't get the Prime Minister's attention or he's afraid to let them go.
Why would he be afraid?
There are a number of international aid and child advocacy groups, with UNICEF at the front of the line, that are prone to oppose international adoption in virtually all forms. If you've watched the national news much this week, especially in the wake of the debacle involving the Baptist group from Idaho, odds are good you've heard their point of view. In short, they advocate almost exclusively for these children to be left in their culture of origin. They passionately argue, in this case, that Haitian kids should grow up in Haiti, period. And they make the same argument in similar situations around the world. This is not my slant on UNICEF or like-minded groups - they are clear about their position.
This is something I've thought about more than just a little. Amy and I have known since before we married that adoption was likely in our future. In the ten years since, we've discovered two things: we make kids very easily, and we are more passionate about adoption after having three kids biologically than we were before.
For most of that time, we believed we'd adopt hard-to-place kids from the U.S. There were lots of reasons for that, and we never gave much thought to anything else. About two years ago, God began to do something in me that I can only describe as him sort of consistently grabbing me by the chin, turning my head, and saying, "Look: Uganda." It wasn't about adoption for me at first. I just suddenly was aware of Uganda. All the time. And then, over time, it became about adoption. That is a long overdue post for another time. For now, what matters is that it happened.
Since then, we've been dialed into Uganda, mostly assuming our next children will come from there. [I say "mostly" because we've well-learned to live by the closing line of the terrific move, Dan in Real Life: Plan to be surprised.] Our sweet friend Juliette spent four months living in an orphan village on the backside of Lake Victoria, mostly because she's about as upside down for the real Kingdom as anyone we know, but partly because she got on board with our passion for that people and place. Or maybe she was ahead of us. I'm not sure.
As all of that has happened, we've talked and thought a lot about what we're planning to do. We've not only answered other people's questions about the ethics of trans-racial, trans-cultural, trans-continental adoption, we've asked ourselves those same questions and then some. It is not a simple issue, and it doesn't take long for the romance of the thing to dissolve into the hard realities involved.
As I watch this international debate literally play itself out in the lives of friends and friends-of-friends, I'm also contemplating our future. We care deeply about culture. We have no desire to raise dark-skinned Norvells who have no sense of their history or culture of origin. It matters to us that our family - and even more than that, our greater community - have a long-term connection to Uganda or to whatever culture or country produces our future children. Honestly, we've steered clear of larger adoption agencies and sought out smaller, more localized opportunities for this very reason. As much as it's up to us, we want to do this in a way that allows the development of life-long relationship and mutual ministry between the people who our children grow up with and the people from whom they come.
That may all sound great, but I also know the reality of that will not be a fairy tale. It will be years of hard, tearful, and (since we're most connected to really hot countries) sweaty work, and we might ultimately be completely disappointed in any number of ways. I just choose to believe that if those doors are opened to us, we're right to walk through them no matter what's waiting on the other side.
So I get the cultural complications and ramifications of international adoption - at least I get them as much as I can from this side of the chasm. And, frankly, I don't get the dogmatic opposition to international adoption by people who claim to be interested only in what's best for children. I understand that raising a kid in his or her natural home and native environment is ideal, assuming that environment can sustain that child physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But for UNICEF and others to claim that's always realistic is, at best, ignorant and, and worst, disingenuous. They know better.
They know that the large majority of kids in orphanages in Haiti and Uganda and other places ravaged by poverty and war and famine and genocide are there precisely because their original environment could not sustain them. Their extended families, villages, and so forth could not or would not care for them. And when the case for returning children to untenable situations can be made no longer, they begin to talk about international adoption as some sort of act of cultural aggression - an American enterprise certain to doom the future of already flailing third world nations.
And despite my passion for adoption, I understand that concern in its purest form. I want Uganda and Haiti to be healthier, hopeful places. I'm not interested in robbing those nations of their children or their futures. I'm not.
But here's what I'm also not interested in: I'm not interested in looking in the face of a kid without a family and telling him that he doesn't get a family - that he has to stay in a country literally torn apart by an earthquake and rife with abuse and neglect because Haiti will need him in twenty years. I'm not interested in telling the baby girls without mothers in Uganda that an international aid group thinks it's best for them to grow up in an orphanage so that Uganda has a chance at a more egalitarian future.
Does. Not. Compute.
Regardless of culture or country, we do not mortgage our children's present for anyone else's future.
I understand that we must take great care in how we do this. And I know that people at both ends of the issue can do tremendous harm if they are not careful. I just don't find any rationale for laboring to subvert cross-cultural adoption that is ultimately and triumphantly loving to children. I am happy for UNICEF to exist and do all kinds of other good work (read here about their history on adoption and here about what they can and should focus on in Haiti and elsewhere).
I'm white, so feel free to discount my opinion accordingly. But let me say this: EVERY SINGLE PERSON I've seen on TV ranting against international adoption is white! [I never use all-caps or exclamation points...Can you feel me here?]
It is one kind of cultural elitism for a white guy to assume he can give an African or Haitian orphan a better home and future than that child has without a family (not because he's white, by the way, but because he's a Dad and can offer a family).
It is another kind of elitism altogether for a white guy to tell an African or Haitian child that s/he needs to just stay right there in poverty and despair because, well, kids should just stay with their own kind.
So if God gives me a daughter from Uganda or a son from Haiti, I will teach them where they came from. I will take them there. I will pray for them to have vision for that nation and those people. I will encourage my blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids to have the same passion for Uganda and Haiti and the rest of the world - all of it, including us, groaning in anticipation of our adoption. And if and when God sends any or all of my kids to one of those nations - to stay or to find children of their own - I will weep and dance and shout that Jesus is the King of the whole world, and his Father is the Dad of all children everywhere, forever.
Well, I don't dance a lot, but I'll weep and shout for sure.


text:
I think the outsourcing trend is coming to an end, as the dollar looses value - it no longer pays. As far as outsourcing your life tasks, that doesn't work either because working at home includes time with your family and gas and taxes are driving up the cost of outsourcing. For example, your can cut your grass or clean your house with your family vs. going to work and hiring it out.
So, the more you work outside the home, the more you get behind with your family and your money. This trend is likely to reduce the service sector of the economy that has been growing for decades. Outsourcing your life is part of the old economy. The new economy is about doing more for yourself.


text:
By STEPHON JOHNSON Amsterdam News Staff | Thursday, February 2, 2012
Muslim organizations are still calling for the job of New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly after revelations of police officers being shown an anti-Islam video.
It was recently revealed that the New York City Police Department showed almost 1,500 of its officers a right-wing documentary titled "The Third Jihad," which portrays Muslims in America as devising strategies and infiltrating the country's culture to eventually dominate. The documentary was shown during police training sessions and its production was funded by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit group with connections to Aish HaTorah, an Israeli organization that opposes territorial concessions of the West Bank of any kind.
According to one Muslim organization, it's another strike against the NYPD and New York City when it comes to profiling Muslim Americans. They're now asking for Kelly to step down.
"We call on Mayor Bloomberg to either fire Commissioner Kelly or ask for his resignation," said Zahid H. Bukhari of the Islamic Circle of North America in an emailed statement. "The NYPD under Kelly's leadership has allowed a blatantly racist, Islamophobic film to be used to train over 1,489 police officers. This film was also produced by individuals and groups with ties to anti-Muslim hate groups.
"This type of clandestine behavior by the NYPD not only violates the civil liberties and civil rights of Muslim Americans, but calls into question the integrity of a police force that is sworn to protect thousands of law-abiding Muslim Americans and other ethnic communities who live in New York City."
According to recently released documents, as requested under the Freedom of Information Law by the New York Times, "The Third Jihad" documentary includes an interview with Kelly himself and was shown on a constant loop during a period of three months to one year of police training.
As reported by the AmNews at the beginning of the New year, Muslim groups who were invited to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's annual interfaith breakfast wrote a sternly worded letter protesting the mayor and refused to attend the event. According to a letter signed by members of groups like Brooklyn Congregations United, the Muslim Consultative Network, the Muslim American Society and the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, they refused to participate because of a series of Associated Press reports that suggested that the NYPD was intentionally profiling New York City's Muslim population.
"Mayor Bloomberg, the extent of these civil rights violations is astonishing, yet instead of calling for accountability and the rule of law, you have thus far defended the NYPD's misconduct," read the letter. "We, on the other hand, believe that such measures threaten the rights of all Americans and deepen mistrust between our communities and law enforcement.
"We are not alone in our belief. Many New Yorkers continue to express a variety of concerns centered on a lack of law enforcement accountability in our city, from stop and frisk procedures in African-American and Spanish-speaking communities, to the tactics used in the evacuation of Zuccotti Park."
However, a CIA inspector general said an independent investigation didn't find any evidence of profiling.
New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams said that Bloomberg remained disappointingly silent on the issue of Muslim profiling and police work during his high-production State of the City speech several weeks ago.
"There was nothing on stop, question and frisk, nothing on surveillance of Muslim communities, nothing on anything of real substance to the crucial conversation," said Williams in a statement. "Make no mistake, this is a slap in the face to over half of New York City and its council. The police accountability issue is not going away, Mr. Mayor."
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.
Article Courtesy: Amsterdam News
Please get the FBI and civl rights orginizations to conduct a thorough investigation. File a class action suit against the NYPD. This will get their attention. MONEY TALKS.


text:
When cats or dogs become members of our families, the last thing we're thinking about is how their time on earth will end. Sadly though, it's something all pet guardians eventually face. If you're in this position, you may be researching pet euthanasia. It's a decision that a number of people make to keep pets from hurting in their final days. Pet euthanasia can be performed in a Veterinary Clinic or at home. The prime place for euthanasia is going to be wherever you and your pet feel most at ease. Our staff at Pets Care Hospital Elmer offers In Home Euthanasia. Termination of life conclusions for our pets is never easy. Pets Care Hospital Elmer assists you to make an informed decision when it comes to Euthanasia Service in Elmer.
In Elmer being a cat owner is a lovely feeling that brings joy to every day. Unfortunately, at some point, you may have to make difficult decisions regarding the Health of Your Feline Friend, such as how to handle end of life care. Our staff understands the pain that comes with this choice, and thereby aid you accordingly.
As the only medical professionals registered to perform this most vital present, we take pride in the Technical, Medical, And Soft Skills connected with ending the life of a beloved family pet. With Pets Care Hospital Elmer the actual process is made peaceful and serene. Pets Care Hospital Elmer has got you covered with Veterinary Euthanasia Services in Elmer.
Making the choice to euthanize your pet can feel painful. Euthanasia is a present, especially when used rightfully to prevent more Agony For Your Pet and suffering for family members.
At Pets Care Hospital Elmer Intravenous Injection of Pentobarbital is deemed the most easy, quick, and gentle method of euthanizing animals. We safely utilize pentobarbital as a humane euthanasia drug.
Pet euthanasia services are controlled by state laws, which typically require a certified Animal Hospital to perform it wherever it happens. Different from other veterinary services, you decide what space is optimal for your pet's passing.
Having a veterinarian travel to your home to perform pet euthanasia will be more costly than doing it in a veterinary clinic. If you want more information about At Home Euthanasia call us today.
At Pets Care Hospital Elmer, we understand how difficult it is to make the choice to say Farewell To Your Pet. We do everything we are capable of to make this agonizing time as pleasant as possible.


text:
I now happen to need a wrench to make some changes to my bed. I also realize that sometimes I may need other tools in my life as well. I was wondering
Which way to build one's own collection of tools is better, buying one after another, or buying a tool set?
I am living in U.S., if that helps.


text:
Geoff Andrew is Programmer-at-Large for BFI Southbank and a regular contributor to Sight & Sound. He first worked as a cinema programmer at London's Electric Cinema in the late 1970s. For many years he was Film Editor of Time Out; he remains the magazine's Contributing Editor, and was Consultant Editor on all editions of the Time Out Film Guide.
In addition to editing the anthology Film: The Critics' Choice, Geoff has written many books on film. They include studies of the films of Nicholas Ray, Hollywood gangster movies, and American 'indie' filmmakers of the 80s and 90s; BFI Modern Classics volumes on Kiarostami's 10 and Kieslowski's Three Colours Trilogy; and two critical dictionaries, The Film Handbook and Film Directors A-Z – The Art of the World's Greatest Film-makers. He has written for numerous anthologies, and contributed commentaries, on-screen introductions and interviews to DVDs. In 2003 he was a member of the Un Certain Regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and he has also served on juries at the London, Brussels, Istanbul, Sarajevo and Morelia film festivals. In 2005 he was discussant at a conference on the work of Abbas Kiarostami at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in 2006 he delivered a lecture on 'Velazquez and the Cinema' at the National Gallery. In 2009 the French government made him a Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des letters; he is, among other things, a Francophile.
Geoff also writes on film, music and the arts at geoffandrew.com


text:
Idyllic is the tomato harvest of perfectly round fruits shining in a glow of flawless red. But in the real world of vegetable gardening, such a crop is not always the case because many tomatoes will be scarred, marred and otherwise look down right ugly.
Disease! It must be a disease! So out comes the sprayer, and you spray and spray with a fungicide. But it doesn't work.
Insects! The dastardly disfiguring must be the work of insects! So out comes the sprayer again, and you spray and spray with an insecticide. But it doesn't work either.
What caused your once-promising tomato crop to look so terrible? Rather than diseases or insects always being the usual suspects, there are several physiological problems that can also produce less-than-pristine fruits, and knowing what they are now will help prevent them at harvest time. Listed below are four of the most common disorders and tips on how to deal with these problems. For a tomato patch closer to perfection this summer, study them carefully.
Blossom End Rot. This ugly dark brownish blotch on the bottom of an otherwise flawless fruit stems from stress put upon the plant due to finicky Mother Nature — in particular, wildly fluctuating rainfalls creating extended periods of wet-dry-wet-dry conditions. A 3- to 4-inch mulch and regular watering when the rains don't come will help stabilize the ground moisture supply and prevent such ugliness from occurring. In addition, a shot of calcium will also inhibit this problem, especially in gardens with acidic soil. Powdered lime is a good source of calcium, but it reacts slowly with the soil. For quicker results, spray tomato leaves with a diluted solution of calcium chloride (available at most lawn and garden centers).
Sunscald. It first appears as a yellowish, discolored spot on top of a tomato, and then eventually turns the afflicted area about as ugly as a bad case of blossom end rot. True to its name, the cause of this blemish is Ol' Sol — too much sun is the culprit. Sunscald usually happens on tomatoes that ripen on the upper branches of plants. With less shade, these fruits easily become overexposed to relentless sun rays. However, conservative pruning (especially in the top branches) and using a light covering such as cheese cloth over the plants will help prevent the sun from doing such damage to ripening 'maters.
Cracking. This condition is marked by concentric, unappetizing rings circling the stem or vertical splits along the sides of the fruits. It is the result of tomatoes growing too fast and literally bursting out of their skins. This problem usually occurs when a big rain falls after a long dry spell. Too much water too soon becomes too much of a good thing, and it causes the tomatoes to crack. Mulching the plants will help steady the moisture supply, and a regular watering schedule when the rains don't come will also prevent this disorder. In addition, if this seems to be a persistent problem in your garden, there are varieties available that are resistant to cracking.
Catfacing. Have any disfigured or deeply scarred tomatoes? They are probably the victims of catfacing. Don't take the name too literally and think rogue cats are the cause. No, "catfacing" is just a descriptive term used to describe this disorder. With a lot of imagination, you can sometimes see cat faces formed by the disfigurements. This problem starts early in the development of fruit. Cool weather can cause abnormal growth in young tomatoes that magnifies as they get bigger, meaning early spring plantings are usually more susceptible to catfacing. So, if your first crop of tomatoes show signs of this problem, don't worry — any fruit that follow should be free of this disorder as temperatures rise during the growing season.
L.A. Jackson has been a garden editor, lecturer and writer for over 20 years and has led many tours overseas through the great gardens of Europe. He lives in North Carolina.


text:
As we approach Apple's latest fall media event—an annual occurrence that was once described as the "iPod event," but has since morphed into the "iPhone event"—iPod fans are left wondering what will happen now that Apple's line of iconic music players have seemingly been demoted in favor of iOS. We're also fast approaching the ten-year anniversary of the introduction of the original iPod—a milestone that highlights the iPod's incredible success over the last decade, but also drives home how old fashioned the standalone iPod line really is.
Now, according to a new rumor out of TUAW relying on an inside, non-analyst source, Apple is supposedly planning to kill off the iPod shuffle and iPod classic this year. If true, that means Apple may not keep the iPod classic and shuffle around long enough for their last holiday meals. But even if the source meant in the coming fiscal year (meaning next year), it's clear that the non-touch iPods' days are numbered.
The decision makes sense. As we noted at last year's iPod event, the shuffle and nano are now nearly identical except the latter has a touchscreen with an iOS look and functionality, while the former is screenless with buttons. They basically occupy the same market space and target the same type of users, but one device is functionally inferior to the other—in fact, it's almost surprising that Apple didn't kill off iPod shuffle last year when it revamped the nano to become a mini iPod touch.
The same goes for the iPod classic, but for different reasons. Yes, there are some users who still carry around 160GB worth of music with them wherever they go, but those users are quickly dwindling as more advanced and feature-rich music listening options make carting your entire music library around unnecessary. When you have an iPod touch and a Spotify Premium account, for example, you suddenly have access to more music than what would fit onto that 160GB hard drive in the first place. And with the pending rollout of iCloud, any iTunes purchase you make can show up on your iOS device without your having to plug in and sync every time. Simply put, the iPod classic can only compete with its newer iPod siblings on storage space and virtually nothing else, and even that is becoming a less important element to music players over time.
These are realities that have lurked in the back of iPod fans' minds since the iPod touch first came out, and the sales numbers back them up. Apple's iPod sales growth has been dwindling for years now, with the quarterly unit declines beginning in mid-2009. The first three fiscal quarters of 2011 showed a seven, 17, and 20 percent year-over-year iPod unit declines respectively. But Apple says the iPod touch—when isolated away from the legacy players—is selling like hotcakes, which only means one thing: people just aren't into traditional iPods like they used to be.
"But what about the iPod nano?" Indeed, according to the latest rumor, the iPod nano would be the sole survivor of Apple's iPod strategy shift, but why? Apple knows there's a certain group of users—people who, in all likelihood, also own an iPod touch or iPhone—who want a tiny, minimalist music player for activities like going to the gym. (It does come with Nike+ built in, remember, not to mention the handful of other fitness-related functionality.) The nano is practically an iDevice add-on—an admittedly expensive one at $149 to $179 a pop, but that's likely to change if the iPod shuffle gets the axe.
These are all reasons why I would hardly be surprised if and when the older iPod style is phased out. It's 2011, and music players based on design and functionality from 2001 won't cut it. Apple may still be selling iPod classics every quarter, but Apple isn't the type of company to keep a deprecating product alive until its expiration date becomes the butt of jokes.


text:
Training without the need to change or shower at fit20 Traverse City
You won't perspire during your fit20 training. The machines are set at high resistance but you move at a slow speed. The slow movement speed in combination with a cooled training studio (63℉) means you body does not get the "sweat stimulus". Your energy is used to deliver your top performance for that week. No hassle with changing and showering, you just train in regular street clothes.
fit20 is fast. You train by appointment and there is no need to change or shower. This makes it easy to find a 20-minute slot in your agenda before, or after your work day. People who don't feel comfortable in a the regular gym atmosphere also love fit20.


text:
Source Information
About West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Confirmations, 1859-1875, 1901-1915
This database contains images of Church of England confirmation records in registers from parishes in the West Yorkshire area of England.
Parish Records
Before civil registration in England began in 1837, key events in a person's life were typically recorded by the church rather than the state. Parish records are the best source of vital record information in England before the nineteenth century and remain an important source thereafter.
Confirmation Records
Over time, what is now called confirmation in the Church of England became a separate rite from baptism, as a bishop needed to perform the confirmations, and bishops could not attend all baptisms. Confirmation now usually comes later in life and affirms one's commitment to the Christian life represented by baptism. Thus, most of the people named in these registers are teenagers and young adults.
The records typically include spaces for name, age, address, date of first communion, and sometimes change of address or other remarks. In some instances, a birth date will be given for the age. Others may list only name, date, and address.


text:
Spirit of China & the Yangtze River with Hong Kong & Mongolia
Embark on a 21-day odyssey to explore fascinating landscapes of China and Mongolia on your affordable vacation in Asia. Begin in the fascinating city of Hong Kong for a journey through China's spectacular destinations. Your affordable China vacation delivers a wealth of experiences, including a ride on Hong Kong's Star Ferry, a cable-car ride up panoramic Victoria Peak, and culinary discoveries, including a delectable dim sum lunch. Climb aboard Hong Kong's historic 1920s-style double-decker tram for an authentic look at the city's living history. Your value vacation in China continues in the exciting city of Shanghai on the Yangtze River delta. You'll marvel at the exquisite Yu Yuan Gardens and the Shanghai Museum—with works of art dating 6,000 years old. In Wuhan, explore beautiful East Lake—China's second largest freshwater urban lake.Discover 200,000 cultural relics in the Hubei Provincial Museum, including ancient pottery, jades, artwork and coins. Next, board the bullet train to Yichang to embark on your 4-night cruise on the legendary Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam, Goddess Stream, and dramatic forested mountain views will mesmerize you, as will Shibaozhai's cliff side, 400-year-old red pagoda. In one of China's ancient capitals, Xi'an, you'll see the emperor's vault surrounded by the stunning find of thousands of Terracotta Warriors, chariots, and horses guarding the tomb. In Beijing, take a guided tour of Tian'anmen Square past Mao's Mausoleum. Visit the Forbidden City—the largest collection of China's ancient buildings and home to the historic Ming and Qing dynasties. Your budget-minded tour of China includes once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including a visit to the iconic Great Wall of China. Witness sweeping vistas from the wall that once stretched 4,000 miles across China's barren northern terrain. You'll fly from Beijing to Mongolia's capital city of Ulaanbaatar to embark on an adventure in the Gobi Desert. Sand dunes, the Cemetery of Dinosaurs, and a camel-breeders camp offer fascinating insight into the nomadic lifestyle, ancient culture, and tantalizing traditional foods. Your value-minded tour of China, the Yangtze River, and the remarkable traditions and terrain of Mongolia, is a journey into a spirit of history, beauty, culture, and natural wonders like no other.
City Highlights
HONG KONGRide on Star Ferry; cable car ride to Victoria Peak; visit the dried seafood market; dim sum lunch; Host service during your staySHANGHAISightseeing with a Local Guide including headsets; visit Yu Yuan Gardens and the Shanghai MuseumWUHANVisit East Lake and the Hubei Provincial Museum; travel by bullet train from Wuhan to YichangYANGTZE RIVER CRUISEFour-night cruise through the Three Gorges, including a tour of the Three Gorges Dam Site, a boat excursion on Goddess Stream, and a walking tour in ShibaozhaiXI'ANSightseeing with Local Guide including headsets; visit the Terracotta Warriors, city wall, and a lacquerware factory; walking tour through Muslim quarterBEIJINGSightseeing with a Local Guide including headsets; visit Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall; Peking Duck dinnerULAANBAATARVisit the National History Museum, Sukhbaatar Square, Bogd Khan Winter Palace, Gandan Monastery, and Zaisan Hill; Mongolian folklore performance; Host service during your stayGOBI DESERTVisit Eagle Valley, Cemetery of Dinosaurs, and a camel breeders camp; Host service during your stay
20 breakfasts, 12 lunches, 11 dinners
Private, deluxe, air-conditioned motorcoach while touring in China. Sightseeing vehicle in Hong Kong & Mongolia.


text:
Non-Technological Ways to Combat Cheating?
| -Uncategorizedhttp://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/08/1727257&mode=flat&tid=146&tid=99
Interesting idea:
2. Being a TA myself (CS, though), I tried the following approach – every student writes the names of the students around him, in all 8 directions, in a specially drawn 3×3 box. Now, this killed 99% of cheating, as we TAs could get a quick verification of cheating suspects. It also helped us recognize cheating, since we could check the tests in the order of seating. This, coupled with Tal's method, could probably locate almost all cheaters.
Working alone is prone to getting stuck at one place and not being able to move on, whereas when you work with a partner (or partners), there's a potential for a different perspective, which almost always helps. I found that I learned a lot simply from hearing a different take on the problem (usually, after getting stuck in solving it :) as opposed to spending hours agonyzing over a stumbling point and possibly not really advancing from it, thus learning very little from the assignment. Furthermore, many people learn a lot by just discussing the problem, as it forces them to think along paths their brains would not take if they were left to themselves; many things fall into their place and sink in much better in this fashion (for example, how many of you have come up with an answer to a tough question while explaining your question to a friend?). And let's be realistic, in the real world, many things are done collaboratively and are beyond any single person.
Another fun thing to do:
In one of my composition classes during my freshman year a student copied a paper verbatim from Cliff's Notes. The teacher and everyone else in the class had read the Cliff's Notes for the material, so this was a really dumb move.
The teacher's solution: give her a really high grade and have her read her paper aloud in class as an example of an outstanding paper.
As she read the paper it became obvious to everyone in the class what she had done and she immediately approached the teacher and apologized, rewrote the paper, and explained the whole thing to the class at the next meeting. That class never had a problem with cheating again as far as I know.
This could be applied to CS classes if there are students with identical programs. Give them high grades and have them each present their solutions to the class separately and they will be forced to admit what they have done as it will become obvious to everyone present.
In my experience, one thing that works is to make sure students care about the work they produce.
When they think that the quality and honesty of the work is is important to them, and to others they tend not to cheat.
The prof should mention once in class that there have been cases where homeworks bore a striking similarity and that he hopes everyone will try to get the maximum learning benefit from doing their homework as independently as possible and that he and the T.A.'s have office hours if anyone is having particular problems. Competent students that simply let others crib without learning are not doing the cheater any favors, any more than buying an alcoholic a drink does that person any favors.
Some more ideas:
1. grade the students based on practical, speed tests (not essays or homeworks). What is concept? How would you use it in case? What is the error hidden in lot of code here?
2. grade the students based on my subjective perception of how much each one absorbed. pop quiz everyday, 3 or 4 students a day, noting my remarks on their answers. keep them interested.
3. to smooth 2, throw in some auto-evaluation.
Homework is for *you* to understand how well you've absorbed the material…tests are for the prof to determine how well you've learned and to grade your understanding.
Taking advantage of it:
Here's a radical notion: legalize it.
I'm serious: in the spirit of "pair programming" and "egoless programming", make "cheating" or collaboration permissible. Just point out that the submissions had better not look identical, and make them disclose who they're collaborating with. If you think there are one or two students who are supplying the whole group, cut them out and give then different assignments.
I've worked with this kind of notion both as a student and as a professor, and I'm convinced that it actually leads to overall better learning — as well as letting me relax and not get all het up about it.
1. Accept it. In most classes where there were paper-based assignments (think Math, Physics, etc.) our profs would basically say on the first day of class "I know you're all going to work together on these assignments. Fine. But remember that exams arn't done in groups." and would then point out the fact that assignments were only worth ~10%. Thus, we all learned the best way to work as a team, got everything done, and had good sets of notes for the final. Also had the bonus of having to explain each solution to your friends, so you knew much of it inside out by the time exams came.
2. Expect it. At the start of the semester the prof would announce "I don't care where you get your answers from, as long as you cite and reference them." (mainly for programming and design clases). He'd then give us a list of decent sources for programming information/examples. But then all the questions he'd set would be different enough that you could only copy-and-paste parts of the code most often found. Thus, you learn to see what's been done in the past and not to reinvent the wheel, while at the same time having to work with and understand a stranger's code. Which is exactly what working with any downloaded code (think SDKs) is.
- Assignments were graded only on a completion credit. Every day, he would take questions regarding the previous assignment, so you could learn more about any equations that gave you trouble.
- On the test, every question was either directly taken from the homework, or adapted from the homework. The only way you could do it is if you could do the homework.
- You were required to show work on the test. You could get partial credit depending on how far you got in the problem before you messed up; likewise, whether the answer was correct or not, you'd get no credit if you didn't show your work, since that was part of the instructions.
- Tests were weighted in such a way that you could not pass the course without passing the tests.


text:
May 30, 2014:
It's no surprise that BlueStar® loves color – we offer 750+ colors & finishes for customers to choose from. Now, colorful kitchen appliances are becoming more popular and consumers are beginning to shy away from stainless. Houzz Contributor Becky Harris gives us 14 Reasons to Give In to Color.
The 1970s trends of avocado-green and harvest-gold are long gone, in the 1990s stainless steel took over as the must-have finish for appliances. Most recently, people have been camouflaging refrigerators and dishwashers with panel fronts that matched the cabinetry. Finally color is back! "Home cooks are proud of their appliances and want to make them stand out," says Harris. Not only are home cooks incorporating color but kitchen designers are striving to make a range a focal point. "I try and use a colorful range wherever possible," says interior designer Alison Kandler. "I think the range is the 'fireplace' of any kitchen and should be a focal point." To see more reasons to Give in To Color click here.
Get notified of all BlueStar news. Sign up for our Newsletter!


text:
This section identifies a number of links to documentation about traffic control and Linux traffic control software. Each link will be listed with a brief description of the content at that site.
HTB site, HTB user guide and HTB theory (Martin "devik" Devera)
Hierarchical Token Bucket, HTB, is a classful queuing discipline. Widely used and supported it is also fairly well documented in the user guide and at Stef Coene's site (see below).
General Quality of Service docs (Leonardo Balliache)
There is a good deal of understandable and introductory documentation on his site, and in particular has some excellent overview material. See in particular, the detailed Linux QoS document among others.
tcng (Traffic Control Next Generation) and tcng manual (Werner Almesberger)
The tcng software includes a language and a set of tools for creating and testing traffic control structures. In addition to generating tc commands as output, it is also capable of providing output for non-Linux applications. A key piece of the tcng suite which is ignored in this documentation is the tcsim traffic control simulator.
The user manual provided with the tcng software has been converted to HTML with latex2html. The distribution comes with the TeX documentation.
iproute2 and iproute2 manual (Alexey Kuznetsov)
This is a the source code for the iproute2 suite, which includes the essential tc binary. Note, that as of iproute2-2.4.7-now-ss020116-try.tar.gz, the package did not support HTB, so a patch available from the HTB site will be required.
The manual documents the entire suite of tools, although the tc utility is not adequately documented here. The ambitious reader is recommended to the LARTC HOWTO after consuming this introduction.
Documentation, graphs, scripts and guidelines to traffic control under Linux (Stef Coene)
Stef Coene has been gathering statistics and test results, scripts and tips for the use of QoS under Linux. There are some particularly useful graphs and guidelines available for implementing traffic control at Stef's site.
LARTC HOWTO (bert hubert, et. al.)
The Linux Advanced Routing and Traffic Control HOWTO is one of the key sources of data about the sophisticated techniques which are available for use under Linux. The Traffic Control Introduction HOWTO should provide the reader with enough background in the language and concepts of traffic control. The LARTC HOWTO is the next place the reader should look for general traffic control information.
Guide to IP Networking with Linux (Martin A. Brown)
Not directly related to traffic control, this site includes articles and general documentation on the behaviour of the Linux IP layer.
Werner Almesberger is one of the main developers and champions of traffic control under Linux (he's also the author of tcng, above). One of the key documents describing the entire traffic control architecture of the Linux kernel is his Linux Traffic Control - Implementation Overview which is available in PDF or PS format.
Mercilessly snipped from the main page of the DiffServ site...
Differentiated Services (short: Diffserv) is an architecture for providing different types or levels of service for network traffic. One key characteristic of Diffserv is that flows are aggregated in the network, so that core routers only need to distinguish a comparably small number of aggregated flows, even if those flows contain thousands or millions of individual flows.


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Lovefilm dumps Flash, BLINDS Linux fans with Silverlight
Tough love when it comes to streaming movies online
Lovefilm has sensationally ditched Flash in favour of Microsoft's Silverlight technology, in a move that snubs Linux users and appeases film studios.
The Amazon-owned company revealed yesterday that it had effectively been strong-armed by the movie industry into agreeing to dump the Flash software it had been using to stream film to its customers.
Lovefilm tried to cushion the blow to its punters by penning a toe-curling blog post that admitted from the outset that the decision to ditch Flash was going to be very bad news indeed for some of its customer base.
"Change is always tricky. Not many of us like it, it can be unsettling, and most of us would prefer things to stay just as they are. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be how life works," it said.
"The software that streams our films online is a case in point – it will soon be moving from Flash to a system called Silverlight."
Lovefilm went on to explain that movie studios had requested that the company, whose main business involves posting DVDs out to its subscribers, beef up the technology it uses to stream films online.
That particular arm of the biz has been growing since Lovefilm was bought by Amazon in January this year.
"We've been asked to make this change by the Studios who provide us with the films in the first place, because they're insisting – understandably – that we use robust security to protect their films from piracy, and they see the Silverlight software as more secure than Flash," Lovefilm said.
"Simply put: without meeting their requirements, we'd suddenly have next-to-no films to stream online."
The company said the technology switcheroo wouldn't affect or apply to PS3, iPad, internet TVs and other streaming devices. But PCs, laptops and Macs will no longer be able to access online versions of movies provided to Lovefilm customers via the Flash plugin.
And, unsurprisingly, Linux fans are enraged.
Lovefilm said that it was "very regrettably" snubbing customers who have aged non-Intel Macs or computers running Linux/UNIX distros.
"HTML 5 was considered, but video streaming via HTML 5 is an open-sourced solution that is still maturing, and there are simply no security protections available within HTML 5 that would allow us to stream content securely," it claimed.
According to the company, which also cited better quality streaming for the reason to switch to Microsoft's software instead of HTML 5, most Lovefilm customers already have Silverlight installed on their systems.
And, even worse for Linux fans, the changes are coming very soon.
Lovefilm will continue to provide its streaming service on Flash software only until the first week of January 2012.
Apparently, this gives every customer enough time to "switch".
The company emailed its customers after the corporate blog post about the planned tech change went live.
It offered an apology, of sorts.
"Sorry for any inconvenience caused by this change – if we could have kept both software systems running, we would have – and if you are affected, we hope that you can still enjoy our streaming service on another device."
One customer, Mike H, complained in the comment section of Lovefilm's blog post:
I find this move to SilverLight to be ridiculous. As it is, I am not a Windows or Mac user, but an Android and Linux-based customer, and have been enjoying this service for the past couple of years.
The move to Silverlight is making me think about jumping ship to Netflix when it starts in the new year here in the UK. They already have support for Android Tablets, which you do not.
Talk about not moving with the times, and Silverlight is about to become as defunct as Flash will be to mobile devices... in fact you've become one of the minority, joining Sky, to use this system that's pretty useless. Well done on the smartest decision to slow the progress of your viewer-ship. You should seriously consider HTML 5, and be a pioneer, helping to develop its security.
A really disappointed, and once loyal customer.
Others also commented on reports that Microsoft is preparing to sunset its Silverlight product. It's a rumour that Redmond has refused to deny... ®